Toll Brothers 4Q net income soars on tax benefit

By Michelle Chapman, AP Business Writer

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

NEW YORK ó Toll Brothers says its fiscal fourth-quarter net income soared, helped by a large income tax benefit and a 48 percent rise in revenue. The luxury homebuilder delivered more homes and its order backlog increased.

Its shares rose almost 4 percent in premarket trading.

CEO Douglas C. Yearley Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday that higher home prices, low interest rates, pent-up demand and improving consumer confidence prompted buyers to return to the housing market this year.

For the three months ended Oct. 31, Toll Brothers Inc. earned $411.4 million, or $2.35 per share. Thatís up sharply from $15 million, or 9 cents per share, a year ago. The latest quarter included an income tax benefit of $350.7 million.